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EXCELSUS was hexapedal, with additional secondary devices equipped at the front, containing retractable blades, and a head with two large plasma cannons. The entrance into the machine as well as the cockpit was an egg-shaped elevator platform. The cockpit itself, similar to REX, utilized holograms and VR environments to allow the pilot to operate, as it was completely enclosed. Its controls amounted to some pedals as well as a small controller resembling a game controller. EXCELSUS is also capable of tunneling, as evidenced by its emergence from the Shabhazabad air base in Pakistan. In addition, it was designed to be able to bulldoze through urban environments, which Doktor commented was overkill. Like RAY before it, EXCELSUS was not designed as a nuclear launch platform, but could be modified to serve as one.

When SOP and the Patriots fell following Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, PMCs acted on the development of what had been previously suppressed cyborg technology. The result was an abundance of cyborgs in the armies of PMCs. Due to the advantage of cyborgs capable of making decisions like other humans, the small unmanned gears such as the Gekko units were generating less favor in regards to urban combat. In response, AT Corp did a 180-degree turn and returned to develop a larger UG capable of overpowering cyborgs and tearing a path through urban terrain using its sheer size. It was also built in part to ensure a decrease in civilian casualties, as the weapon was deliberately designed to be massive to ensure that all but trained guerilla fighters evacuated the premises when it was sighted. The result was a new Metal Gear codenamed "EXCELSUS", meaning "high" or "lofty," as well as being a species name of the Apatosaurus dinosaur. The vehicle was not armed with a nuclear weapon, instead being designed for the purpose of asymmetrical warfare in light of cyborg development. Although initially designed to be a UG, the final design required a pilot.

Unlike other Metal Gears, its development was not top-secret, even being the basis of several news reports, causing some to speculate whether they could be sold. Even though it lacked nuclear armaments, it was still referred to as a Metal Gear, primarily because it was redefined as being a large-scale weapon to differentiate it from UG-class walkers, due to nuclear deterrence becoming obsolete and people preferring weapons that could actually kill other people.

In 2018, Raiden fought against EXCELSUS, with Colorado senator Steven Armstrong piloting it. It bore Desperado's logo on the mech's frame, as Armstrong had intended to frame Desperado for the attack on the Shabhazabad Air Base in Pakistan as part of his plot, as well as implicate either the ISI of Pakistan or terrorists from an OPEC nation as being involved. Doktor speculated that, had Armstrong succeeded in his plot, "herds" of EXCELSUS would have overrun the FATA territories. Raiden managed to defeat it by cutting off its front legs, and then exchanging blows with one of its retractable blades after lifting it away from the pit, before cutting up and throwing the giant blade at the head. What remained of EXCELSUS was further destroyed when Armstrong emerged from its cockpit and used his nanomachines to engage Raiden in hand-to-hand combat on top of and around the wreck.

Metal Gear EXCELSUS appears in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and is fought by the player during a boss battle. While the name "EXCELSUS" is rendered in upper case in the corresponding mission objective (similar to other Metal Gear codenames), it is given in lower case in subtitled Codec dialogue.

EXCELSUS as it appeared in the screenshots released by newbreview.

In the TGS trailer for Metal Gear Rising, EXCELSUS appeared as an unnamed mech of considerable size, preparing to battle Raiden. This implied that the mech would be piloted by Senator Armstrong as the final boss battle. The machine was eventually identified in some screenshots released by the gaming site newbreview.

Metal Gear EXCELSUS also appeared in the Versus Battle section on the Metal Gear series official website.[1] It was pitted against Metal Gear D, and won 61.86% of the vote by fans.